Now, writing for Fast Company, Neal Ungerleider has penned a detailed and insightful article describing the state of this movement — and how it's set to reshape the way technology is created.

And interestingly, Ungerleider argues that biohackers have essentially cloned the success strategies of Silicon Valley innovators:

Not only has the new wave of do-it-yourself (DIY) cybernetics moved well beyond science fiction, it's going to cause a business boom in the not-too-distant future.

West Coast biohackers and grinders were the pioneers of this tech-driven, California brand of utopianism. They've taken a big-tent approach to their goal of hacking humanity: Paleo diets and meditation are just as likely to figure into things as cybernetic finger implants or controlling computer apps with brainwaves. For biohackers everywhere, augmentation of humanity itself—whether through technology or more traditional methods—is the primary goal. Common conversation points include DIY cyborgs, the quantified self, and diet- and meditation-based improvement movements like Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Executive or crowdsourced health projects like CureTogether.

But a growing community on the East Coast—in greater New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh—is synthesizing Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial DNA for its unique innovation model. Experimentation and science here is not only an exercise in advancing humanity through tech but is often is applied toward creating viable cybernetic products for the market.

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Ungerleider's article goes on to describe a number of biohacking initiatives, including efforts to create echolocation implants, brain-controlled software programs, and even cybernetic rats. "Their experiments," he says, "will change the future of tech."